


The Apprentice & the Pilot

by LadyTee



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: DameRey, F/M, JediPilot, Musings of a romantic, Poe and Rey, Rey and Poe, Slow Burn, Vanilla
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-05
Updated: 2016-11-18
Packaged: 2018-08-28 22:09:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8464843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyTee/pseuds/LadyTee
Summary: Rey and Poe have a mission to the Unknown Regions, to follow a lead that may lead to Jedi relics. But first lots of Rey and Poe (and BB-8) moments.





	1. Pre-Flight Check

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't outlined the full story, so please be patient as there will be lots of time between chapters being posted as I'm a slow writer! Thanks! 
> 
> Acknowledgments to Alan Dean Foster and his novelization of The Force Awakens and Wookieepedia, I use them for information and for inspiration. Disclaimer: All characters belong to Lucasfilm Ltd./Disney, or Del Rey/Random House.

_“General,” began the protocol droid, “An old ally claims to have vital information related to one of the many artifacts to which Master Luke spoke.”_

_“Go on, Threepio.”_

_“It would seem that nearly fifty-five years ago, just prior to the Jedi purge, a rare spherical holocron was smuggled out of a Jedi temple and a decoy left in its place. The holocron safely exchanged many hands, though at a cost of many of the safe-keepers and their families’ lives – for the Imperial Inquisitors were ruthless in their pursuit. However about a decade afterwards and with the growing Rebellion, the Empire used less and less resources for their inquisitions, and the trail to – as well as the holocron itself – seemed to vanished. However, according to our source, it was never truly lost, it just went underground – with fewer and fewer individuals, over the years, having knowledge of it. Our ally can bring us information to the last known safe-keeper.”_

****

He was looking forward to getting back in space.  He never felt more grounded than when he was flying – whether into the vastness of space or in planetary atmosphere. Surprisingly, given any number of the thousands of sentient and space-faring species, the majority of the populace would prefer to be planet-bound and not traveling between worlds, even if using the well-routed hyperspace lanes. Apparently, interstellar travel wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea.

That puzzled Poe, a reliable, fast ship, was all you needed. He thought that if there hadn’t been the war between the First Order, and that if he hadn’t joined Republic fleet or the Resistance, he might  have been one of those space pioneers – the colonists or adventurers who were out charting the Unknown Regions, surveying new systems or worlds, making contact and establishing homesteads or ports.

Well, this next mission was sort of doing just that – based on anecdotal reports, old smugglers or merchant captains’ logs – a trail of bread crumbs through the galaxy – this next assignment had him accompanying Jedi Master Luke Skywalker’s apprentice, Rey, to a little known part of space, in search of a little known temple, for a little known Jedi relic.

Rey, Chewbacca, Artoo and Jedi Master Skywalker had returned several weeks ago. Rey was now an apprentice, training in the Jedi arts.  It fascinated Poe. All his life, he had grown up with the knowledge and history of the Rebellion, about the Jedi Knights, who were considered extinct for nearly two generations, except they weren’t. He remembered stories about the Force and Commander Luke Skywalker, a young moisture farmer from a backwater planet who joined the Rebellion and destroyed the Empire’s Death Star. He wasn’t a myth or legend, he was a highly skilled pilot, with some extraordinary abilities. His own mother had served and gone on missions with him.

Likewise, Finn grew up to view Skywalker as a myth – although from another point-of-view. “Of course the First Order didn’t go into detail about his being a Jedi or what the Jedis represented,” he said. “It was well crafted propaganda – ‘ _the Jedi Order were a dangerous religion that brought discord to the coherence and discipline required to maintain order over the great and vast Galactic Empire. The last known Jedi disciple, Luke Skywalker, must be prevented from teaching, and his followers vanquished to prevent the rise of the Jedi Order.’_ – or something like that. _”_

Finn had nearly recovered from his wounds. His reunion with Rey was sweet. “I’m so glad to see you, Finn!” said Rey as she tightly hugged him, being mindful of his back. He winced slightly but was glad for it.

“You’ve met Poe, right? Poe Dameron. Beebee-Ate’s master and the reason we got tangled up with this chicken-coop outfit?” Finn jabbed as the Commander and his droid approached them.

“Yes. We’ve met,” Poe quickly called out. To Rey with a sly smile and wink, he addressed affectionately, “How you doing, _Sweetheart_?”

“Very well ... _my_ _dashing Fly Boy,_ ” replied Rey without missing a beat and for added measure – sidling up and hooking her arm around Poe’s. It produced the reaction they expected, a bewildered-looking Finn wondering just what had transpired between them during his coma. Even BB-8’s domed head swiveled quizzically, the droid reviewing how many times he had recorded that his Master and Rey had actually interacted.

“Wha-! _Wait!_ …when did you two-?!” Finn started flustered, not realizing his friends were playing him.

“While you were sleeping,” said Rey, though she couldn’t keep on teasing Finn. “Finn! I’ve only just returned with Master Skywalker. I’ve been in training on Ahch-To!” Finn looked a bit relieved and a bit skeptical, as Rey and Poe finally let go of one another.

As the group headed out of the hangar, Rey added dryly, “… _Besides_ I haven’t had the _proper_ time _to fall in love_ with the Commander…”

“Relax, man. You’re a little tense,” Poe advised while smiling at Rey’s final quip on their jest.

****

Since Master Skywalker's return, Poe, Finn and the members of the Resistance base were given the rare opportunity to witness how rigorous Jedi training could be. A couple of times, the day shift espied Rey running with a heavy pack, making astounding leaps, ducking, rolling off of ships, equipment, pallets – at times a drone or two would be following and shooting bolts at her which she skillfully dodged  – sweaty, bruised, exhausted, she’d already been at it for hours – as confirmed by the night shift. It created even more mystery and intrigue around the young scavenger.

“The training is extraordinary,” Poe overheard one of his lieutenants, Jessica Pava, say after a morning briefing. “When she completes her circuit in the hangar, she and Master Skywalker then head out for a couple more hours.”

Poe regularly passed Rey as she returned from her jungle excursions on her way to her quarters. Plastered in sweat, clothes scruffy and stained with dirt and debris, she usually could flash a brilliant smile. If BB-8 wasn’t already at her heels, she’d kneel to greet his droid, “Antenna straight?” Poe found that he looked forward to their brief encounters.

“Have you heard about the other part of her training?” inquired Lt. Connix, handing Pava the duty roster, “One of the astromech droids – Beebee-Ate – found himself levitated into the air nearly three meters – poor thing, the experience almost blew his circuits!” Pava looked incredulous. “Apparently the droid followed her one afternoon, she appeared to be meditating in the jungle. He didn’t know that she was working on moving objects with the Force. Yeah, that’s a Jedi thing! It took that old unit, Artoo-Detoo, to explain and ‘calm’ him down. The R2 unit relayed his own experience during Master Luke’s training with a Master Yoda on Dogpatch – or someplace. It was quite interesting to listen to that ‘droid exchange.”

Poe recalled when the little droid told him  – Connix was right, BB-8 seemed to be on the verge of blowing a gasket. He squealed in protest while his domed head circumnavigated his spherical body looking for the source of his predicament. Then, BB-8 described how Rey had finally opened one eye and “shushed” him, before he was gently lowered back to the ground. Poe chuckled. He told BB-8 to remember the special tree near his family home on Yavin-IV, and to recall the unusual readings that BB-8 had recorded from it.  Another long series of beeps, bobbles and whistles followed.

“Well don’t go following her, then.” Poe said. The holonomic droid’s posture seemed to indicate dejection. Poe tempered his admonition, “Look, I know you like to spend time with her. But like all of us, she’s busy with her duties – and her duties happen to be a Jedi-in-training. If you’re going to hang-out with her, she may need to test her skills on you – _for practice._ ” Beebee-Ate seemed to accept it, though his logic circuits could not reconcile how he had come to be levitated, in the absence of a magnetic field or other physical apparatus.

****


	2. Ignition

Rey and Poe met to go over the pre-flight checks of their small rectangular vessel, a CEC XR-23 transport shuttle that could carry nearly a dozen or so passengers and one-ton of cargo. It had several two-person sleeping berths including one designated for the crew. Originally designed for shorter trips hauling passengers and light cargo between systems, the Resistance mechanics and engineering corps had just repaired the starboard engine, improved the hyperdrive, maneuverability and weaponry, since a quick escape was likely.

The ship’s dimension was about half the size of the Millenium Falcon. Poe hoped they’d take the Falcon – however though YT-freighters were still in use, the Falcon was too well-known and could attract too much attention. Besides, the Falcon was taking Chewie, Finn and Lt. Connix onto another mission. 

He found Rey in the XR-23’s co-pilot chair, intently reviewing the console. “Hello,” said Poe as he entered the cockpit. BB-8 also beeped a greeting, too.

“Good morning, Commander. Beebee-Ate.” she said glancing at them before going back to a panel she had opened up.

“What you got going on? We’re supposed to be testing that the systems are functional – not taking it apart,” remarked Poe, as he settled in.

She looked at him, noticing that his typically clean-shaven face had a shadow of growth, she guessed that on missions one had to forego some habits if it helped with the cover. Theirs would be as a captain and first mate, providing private transport from the Outer Rim to – wherever. “I’m getting to know the ship. See how she’s wired to work. I want to understand – in case something goes amiss, I’ll be able to troubleshoot – like a proper first mate.”

“Fair enough,” said Poe. “Today’s flight will give us a feel on how she handles.” 

“May I?” she asked eagerly looking at the pilot’s side of the con. Besides the Falcon, she hadn’t had much of a chance to fly other vessels, though most would argue that if she had captained the Falcon, not much more out there could be better. 

“Be my guest. Didn’t you observe Sargent Tsxcal’s team work on the engine and hyperdrive?”

“It was only for about half-hour, and I didn’t stay as they ran diagnostics – had other priorities to get to. I’ll walk-through the engine rooms and inspect the hyperdrive core – I could use Beebee-Ate’s help,” Dameron looked over at his droid, who gladly beeped his assent. “Have you flown this type of ship before?” she asked.

“Nope, though I’m familiar with many Corellian Engineering Corps designs – at least the ships they built for the Republic. Not much in way of maneuverability, but we’ll see what the mechanics managed.” Reviewing some of the panels, he continued. “Though, what I’d like to test – is that speeder you and Finn have been working on.”

Rey looked at him, surprised that the Commander knew about her project and showed an interest. Upon her return to D’Qar, Rey had started collecting items discarded by the techs, and asked for some work-space. In a somewhat hidden and dusty corner of the hangar, she had gathered her pile of metal and parts. The tech crews were impressed that after about a week, the junk took the gradual form of a speeder-bike. Parts that were dismissed as useless and about to be scrapped, were in various stages of re-purposed. Rey would borrow tools – only when not in use by the crews, returned equipment promptly, and kept her area neat. They observed her in the late evenings, scrubbing, tinkering and fiddling.

She asked for only a handful of “new” and minor components. The ground crews admired her inventiveness with the parts. Soon Rey was finding bits and pieces left at her station, small capacitors, oscillators, coolant cables – not perfect fits, but an acknowledgment to her project and a nod to her skill to modify and ‘work with what you got’ – an idea that many Resistance techs knew too well. Poe and Finn got wind of her project; Finn had more time and offered his assistance, so that he could learn more mechanics and catch up with his friend.

“You probably built one as a kid,” Finn said to Poe one day while Rey was out training and the two went to inspect the progress of the bike. Which Poe confirmed was one of the fond memories he had with his grandfather and father. Finn had spent his childhood training as a soldier, he didn’t have that opportunity. A lifetime ago, it seems – but things changed, because Finn made choices. He was glad to be able to spend time with Rey, and learn a few more skills not related to stormtroop-ing. 

“Okay. Finn and I took it out the other day. It runs okay, however there’s an unusual vibration when decelerating that I need to trouble-shoot. I’ll bring it on-board.”

“A half-day’s atmospheric flight will do the trick. We’ll head to the southern station and then over to the station on Quad 3N. It’ll be evening for them, but there are plains we can race the speeder on before heading back. I’ll submit the flight-plan to Command.” 

****  
Within an hour they were lifting off, Rey maneuvering the boxy ship into an accelerated but gentle ascent, in minutes she leveled off. “I’ve set the coordinates and switched to auto. I check the starboard engine’s flow-rates.” 

Rey wasn’t sure if he’d be evaluating her – this mission would be the first time she and Poe would work together, up until now most of their interactions were limited or included Finn, Pava or some other personnel. Finn thought highly of Poe and she would agree; he spoke his mind, was reliable, and committed to deliver on assignments, a bit cocky – but he was the best the pilot in the Resistance. On first meeting him, she had liked him.

Poe sat back, casually monitoring other systems from the co-pilot seat. “Sounds good,” he remarked. “We should reach the southern edge of the Qartaur Rainforest in about 20 minutes, and then we’ll be flying over a series of seas. We could work on maneuvers over the open water. By the way, looks like there are a couple of storms, on our way to South Station. Here’s a tidbit from the planetary survey report – says the seas are connected via deep underground, natural aqueducts – cave-like tunnels – which naturally filter the water.” 

“These tunnels, I wonder how big of a ship could fly through them,” remarked Rey.

“Why, you want to check them out?”

“I’m from an arid planet, flying underwater – that sounds like an adventure,” she said.

“You know, I think Admiral Ackbar has a personal Mon Cala submersible. I’m sure we can arrange something after the mission – if we ask nicely. ” 

“Really?! That’d be fantastic.” she said enthusiastically.

“Sure, when we get back,” he replied, noticing how her eyes had lit up. “You gonna check the engines…”

“You’ve got the con…” she stated following BB-8 out of the cockpit.

“Who’s supposed to be giving the orders,” replied Poe in a blasé manner.

****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is working out to be more about Poe and Rey interactions and less on the story, I just seem to have more ideas on how'd I'd see a relationship developing, but I will get to the adventure part of it.


	3. Lift-Off

Rey was a quick study, the XR-23 flew quite differently than the Falcon but it took her no time to get a handle on it, then after rooting around its engine belly she now had a good idea of how the ship’s systems integrated . Over the last expanse of D’Qar’s southern waters, she skillfully flew a sequence of aerobatics under Poe’s instructions; giving both she and the engines time to flex. They then descended to sea-level skimming over the blue-green sea making a bee-line to the South Station. 

After activating the ship’s internal gyrostabilizer, so BB-8 didn’t get tossed like a ball, she surprised Poe and BB-8 with a barrel roll. Poe liked her pluck. Poe had heard she had a natural talent and confidence with flying and machinery, now he was getting that knowledge firsthand.

“Careful, don’t want to scare the fauna. There are non-sentient cephalopods – the length of an X-wing that are known to breach,” warned Poe. 

“Scanners indicate the closest pod is about three clicks east of our position – but duly noted, Commander,” she answered.

“Just call me ‘Poe’,” he corrected, smiling. She smiled back. “You’re a civilian, no need to be formal.”

“So, does that mean I pass?” she inquired.

“Pass?”

“Yes… pass.”

“We’re testing this ship’s gonna get us across through the galaxy. You think I’m evaluating you, too?”

“Well, yes. In a way,” Rey answered.

“I’m not and I don’t need to … unless you want to join my squadron,” he said. Then curious about her thoughts, he good-naturedly asked, “Are you evaluating me … checking me out?”

“Maybe I already have,” she countered archly. “Beebee-Ate says that you’re a …” 

“Wait a second,” he interrupted with feigned indignation looking between Rey and his droid, “You and my droid have been talking about me, behind my back?! ….”

“Beebee-Ate and I are merely…“ 

“And you…,” he said addressing BB-8, who rolled just a smidgeon towards Rey, “Where’s the loyalty, buddy?” The little droid chirped what sounded like a half-hearted admission of guilt as he scanned his communication records, to confirm what he had relayed and revealed to Rey – in case his master asked.

It was all light-hearted and friendly banter. The two humans getting more comfortable and used to one another – something that needed to be sorted out if they were going to be successful in their upcoming mission. 

“This is South Station,” interrupted a crackled voice over the comm, “Commander Dameron, is that you? Did you bring my spiced beer?”

****  
Another hour later, they set-down the XR-23 at their second destination – Quad 3N. The outpost’s location at the other side of the D’Qar, meant they arrived around sunset, which Rey had to think about since she’d only had breakfast a few hours earlier. It ensured full coverage and surveillance during a planet’s solar day. There were less than two dozen staff stationed here; one transport ship and a couple of X-wings completed the roster.

They had encountered no issues during their flight from South Station though they flew through a large electrical rainstorm, lightning may have struck but the sensors on the static discharge rods were intact. Rey noted a slightly higher temperature reading from one of the intake valve sensors of the new engine. She let the techs know, so they could check during their diagnostic run.

“Beebee-Ate, stay and make sure the ship checks out, let us know if anything comes up,” Poe instructed. Looking at the speeder-bike that Rey had just unloaded he said, “Let’s see what this baby’s got.”

Rey handed him a helmet. “You have got to be kidding me,” he exclaimed. “Where did you get these?” 

“Lt. Connix told me of some storage containers with some old, but probably still functional equipment. They were in good condition – but for some areas where the fabric was tattered and worn. So I replaced them,” said Rey as she tightened the chin straps. “I added visors, and also updated their comm links…”

A commando helmet – the same type his father had used some thirty years earlier during the Battle of Endor. 

“Outstanding,” remarked Poe as he put his on. The custom vehicle attracted the attention of a couple of ground techs coming off shift.

“I heard someone was working on an unusual speeder – is this it, Commander?” said a fresh-faced woman accompanied by a copper-hued Twi’lek female. 

“I’m unfamiliar with this design – what was the base model?” asked the Twi’lek.

“I think it may have been Imperial or something older, but it wasn’t a complete chassis, so I’ve had to improvise and redesign,” replied Rey. Completely different from the speeder she had made (and left) on Jakku – Rey wondered what had happened to it.

“Sergeants Lorca and Kor-Uta, this is Rey,” said Poe. The young females greeted one another. Like most humans, Rey thought that the Twi’lek female was stunningly beautiful. “Rey and I are about to take it out on a run across the Darvuquan Plains. What’s the top speed you’ve clocked?”

“Four hundred kilometers per hour,” said Rey a bit disappointedly, as she mounted the bike. “I want to get it to six hundred – with a Wookie pilot.” Poe climbed and sat behind her. Rey couldn’t help notice his warmth against her body. 

“It’s quite innovative,” complimented Kor-Uta as she and Lorca stepped back. “Enjoy the ride.” 

“Thank you,” called out Rey as she started the ignition. “When you’re at Central, come find me, you’re welcome to try it!” she offered as the engines powered up. 

“Ready?” she said turning her head back towards Poe.

“Let’s do this,” he said, leaning forward and holding onto her as the speeder took off.  
****


End file.
